Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other
by Clzh and Clzh-x
Summary: Someone attacks the Airport,just as Mail comes home from her year abroad in Ameroupe. And what exactly is her reason for avoiding Net? This story is dedicated to RoseKitsune.EXE, the best Rockman author EVER!
1. Prologue

ClZH: Because of our inattention to DSDM and Card Hazzard, X and I are coming up with this Net Meiru to keep you occupied until then.

X: ENJOY!

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"Higure-Sama!" 

The owner of the local Battle Chip shop turned and smiled; prepared to greet any potential customers with a smile. He had been having a respectably good day, and the light voices of more children, pockets bulky with cash from the recent doling out of allowances, signified that his day was about to get better. He smiled brightly, and directed the children individually to the several stands that were adorned with chips.

His customers were very adamant about Net battling with chips bought from the world famous Higure-ya, and were regulars. Yet, being children, they enjoyed the sensation of being herded towards the stands, and Higure loved the idea of being the shepherd. His two assistants, Shuuko and Nanako, loved interacting with the children as well. The three staff members intermingled with the children so often that they were prepared to offer advice on the folders with which they battled, often choices on Regular Chips or Program Advances.

Higure-ya was famous, not only for its amazing hospitality, but also because Net Savior Hikari Net and his NetNavi, Rockman.EXE, were two of the many regulars of the shop. Often, masses of foreigners from Akihara School District's multiple exchange programs would swarm his store in droves in the hope that they could gain a glimpse of the famous Hero. Higure smiled as he remembered that some of the older girls had tried to get something a little more than a mere glimpse of him. 

Still, Net was a truly faithful customer, and actually one of Higure's favorite non-commercial suppliers. Net would, on occasion, go into the dark Uranet to find the specific chip that had been on the wish-lists that had adorned the corner wall. Chips on these lists were not supplied by major companies on a regular basis and could only be ordered if the customer had one in his Library. His customers would exchange information on their Data Libraries in the hopes that their friend would have the chip that they longed for, but there were some that were so rare that they graced the lists on his wall. Net would sometimes, when buying chips in large bulks that he would, pause and examine the corner wall.

Higure knew that, whenever Net examined the wall, his shop could expect a huge increase in stock for those particular chips, and sometimes, Net would provide the chip shop with custom-made "Holiday" chips that made use of a thematic gag or symbol. Each new holiday season that came around: Halloween or Christmas or whatever, Net would, under the penname "Six of One", walk into the store during the early hours of the morning (one of the staff would let him in) give bags of chips to the staff as gifts for the holiday season, and walk around the store, placing chips on the stands, generally organizing them by age groups, swear the staff to secrecy, and leave for his bed, which he knew he would be woken from by a typically annoyed Rockman (who knew absolutely nothing of Net's early morning deliveries, and thus, by Net's reckoning, could not notice anything unusual and tell the others).

Higure brought himself back to the present to attend to his growing number of customers. He was, surprisingly, getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of customers. It was too early in the afternoon for them to show up; they should've had homework to do. He looked around, and immediately caught site of the problem: Net was presently sitting down in the corner on the sofa rubbing his eyes, and a large mass of students were trying to get close.

Fed up with it, Net stood and began walking away, forging his path through the omnipresent crowd and walking towards the opposite wall, where the Wish-List hung. Higure perked up visibly, but his expression noticeably changed to one of surprise as Netto turned and left the shop, sniffling and rubbing his eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

"Sonic Boom!"

Blues.EXE charged down the pathway, firmly intent on heading the escapee off from the Uranet until the authorities could arrive in bulk. He could've probably handled it, but Meijin Eguchi had wanted the fugitive subdued, not "reduced to a blubbering pile of useless trash" as he put it. It wasn't their fault, but Enzan and Blues just had that kind of effect on most criminals. Their reputation preceded them (sometimes unfortunately), so they couldn't enter the Uranet while chasing convicts and the like, without getting mobbed by hundreds of third-rate gangsters looking for revenge, and risk losing their target.

"Shotgun!"

Blues sidestepped, almost caught off guard by the erratic firing. Almost. Resuming the chase, he activated his integrated Hero Sword and sliced the offending gun cleanly off, only to dodge several more shots from the other arm as the runaway used a Recovery +50 and regained his damaged arm. For a Normal NetNavi, fresh-off-the-shelf, with only basic Solo capabilities, it was pretty self-sufficient. It seemed he would have to start playing a little harder at this game of Cat-and-Mouse.

Blues caught site of one of the many gates to the Uranet and began to run faster; there was generally a crowd of ambush Navis waiting just inside the entrance, and he did not want to deal with them. As he caught up with the offender, he preformed one of the many attacks that gained a reputation.

"Dark Cross!"

The NetNavi fell to the ground, groaning and clutching his severed legs. Shaking off the pain, a process which took him several moments, he allowed Blues to attach digital handcuffs to his wrists while activating a higher level recovery (+180, this time) to regain his legs. Blues stood up, and looked around. The Officials had yet to arrive, so Blues was stuck with marching the criminal back to base, a long walk considering where the chase began and started. He would have to walk the convict _all the way_ from Endo Area to Official Center! Blues groaned, and rested against the wall, as he planned out the exact reprimand that he would give to the Head of the Retrieval Squad. However, his senses were alert and tense as he became alerted to the fact that his charge was aiming a Vulcan at him.

"Don't move, Mr. Official."

Blues held very still as the NetNavi opposite him aimed his weapon steadily. Unlike their Human Operators, unless they were under extreme damage, Navis had deadly accuracy, since their limbs didn't shake from the strain of holding them straight. Blues was cornered, and his mind was rushing as he tried to figure out how the NetNavi managed to upload a weapon without him noticing, and while handcuffed, no less! Those things were meant to disable Battle Chip usage. Suddenly, the answer that made the whole situation both clearer and infinitely more dangerous came to him as he stared down the barrel of the weapon. Judging from the drum and nozzle of the device, Blues concluded that he was either staring at the Dark Chip: Dark Vulcan (most Dark Chips simply took the name of a basic Battle Chip and added the Dark prefix), or at the Program Advance: Mugen (or Infinite) Vulcan. The ability to hold Dark Chips (ridiculously powerful versions of their namesakes) or Program Advances (unique –and also ridiculously powerful- attacks triggered by the unison of certain chips in the correct order) in check had not yet been installed in handcuffs, but most NetNavis didn't know that. Blues tensed as his spine shivered, an action uncommon among NetNavis, specifically Blues, who was not used to intense fear. In the silence that ensued, the common brand NetNavi decided to unload his weapon.

Blues sprang out of the line of fire as his adversary shot intense loads of digital lead into the area where he was once standing as a virus, a "Killer Biri", absorbed the blast, stunned and fried to a crisp, but not yet beaten. Now that Blues had recovered and gotten to his feet, he was unconcerned; despite the fact that the virus was the most powerful in the Biri Family/Class, the orbs of lightning that the family generated (no matter how powerful) were slow and often only the most novice NetNavis ran into them on their own. These viruses only passed as a threat when in coordination with other viruses, or in large groups. The "Little Demon Ball with Eyes", as was the popular Chat Room name for them, slowly got to its feet and crossed the two charged barbs attached to its sides together, forming a ball of highly concentrated electrical surges that gave off an eerie glow that illuminated its black body. As the glow of the orb grew, both Blues and his charge swore very rudely as the light revealed exactly what was behind the Killer Biri.

Hordes of the little freaks surrounded the two NetNavis, charging up their lightning orbs. Every NetNavi worth a quarter of his salt knew that 2 or more of the little balls was dangerous, but Blues doubted the survival of even a shred of his or the NetNavi escapist's data. Blues didn't have the capabilities of repeatedly shuffling through his attacks; his currently equipped Navi Customizer arrangement didn't have the space for that massive program.

"So… got any more surprises?" he popped the question to the runaway beside him.

"Sorry, Mr. Official, but my bag of tricks is almost empty."

Faced with the hollow feeling of staring your doom straight in the eye common to so many in his line of work, Blues began to do what he did best: think of a solution **_very_** quickly. He shuffled through each option, playing them out at high speeds, and as he dodged the masses of lightning, he came to a single conclusion. He dodged another and another as he fought to find an opening, noting with surprise that, if his target's bag of tricks was indeed almost empty, the NetNavi had saved some of the best for last, unleashing more Program Advances, like Destroy Pulse and Akuretsuzan.

There! Springing forward, Blues unleashed his ultimate attack.

"Delta… Ray… Edge!"

As the shimmering triangle afterimage of his sword attack ate through the wall of viruses, Blues fired a small packet of E-Mail Data through the rapidly disappearing hole. He only hoped that when the addressee received the message, he would still be in one piece.


	3. Chapter 2

Okay. This was good, Blues thought. Now as long as the runaway could…

"Unfortunately… my bag of tricks has now officially run dry. Mr. Official, any advice?"

Never mind. "Yeah, right a letter of complaint to City Hall about the **_stupid law_** that says all PErsonal Terminals can only allow folders that have one copy of a Program Advance. Your Akuretsuzan was useful."

"…Thank you."

Blues allowed himself a small smile at the NetNavi's droll style of speech. His use of "Mr." suggested that he was from Ameroupe, since Japanese NetNavis used "-San" or "-Sama" instead. As the cascading walls of viruses closed in for the kill, Blues merely dodged the orbs they threw, since he wasn't going to risk moving to attack and give the viruses more surface area to target. Waiting for the end, he decided small talk would lighten the mood.

"So… got a name?" he asked his fellow piece of soon-to-be virus food. Kami-sama, he was SO glad his operator, Enzan wasn't here to see him. Got a NAME! He could visualize the upcoming back-and-forth between him and his operator.

"I am Stream.EXE. My friends call me Stream. You may."

"Alright, and… who are your friends?" Blues had been caught off guard by the invitation.

"Have you ever heard of Zero?"

Blues jumped at the name, and narrowly avoided getting hit by the paralyzing orbs.

"Zero? Zero.EXE, as in the Zero Virus Zero?"

"Yes. Oh, and Mr. Rockman.EXE and Mr. Forte.EXE, too. Are you familiar with them?"

"Fairly," Blues mentally sighed, and then jolted, once again narrowly missing an orb. "Wait… Forte? THE Forte? Forte as in 'I'm going to destroy all humanity' Forte?"

"Forgive my stepping out of bounds, but you forgot 'Has a huge crush on Uranet Lord Ms. Serenade.EXE Forte'."

"…I thought Serenade was a guy! Effeminate, yes, very. But still, if Serenade was a woman, wouldn't she have…" Blues caught himself as the word that he had almost uttered, unguarded, hit the tip of his tongue. Searching for the redeeming phrase, he finally came up with "…uh, made it more obvious?"

"In her manner or physical appearance?"

Blues mentally cringed. He was caught; if Enzan heard him speaking in such a manner, he could expect a major dressing down. As he searched for the phrase that would've brought him back into the game of Verbal Tag that he was enjoying on Death's Door, he was suddenly saved the effort.

"Pure Cannon!"

A solid beam of energy shot thorough the viruses, creating a gap large enough for Blues to see that his message got through.

"Mr. Rockman! What brings you here?"

"Hey, Stream! Hey, Blues!" Rockman called as Net slotted in a few more chips.

"Program Advance: Big Noise!"

Rockman lifted the Buster cannon attached to his right arm, and it transformed into a small oblong speaker. Both Blues and Stream covered their ears as the din emitted from the speaker obliterated the larger part of the virus wall. Rockman ran towards his friends, smiling grimly.

"Ready, Blues?"

Blues smiled, lifted his sword (there was enough space to move freely now), and charged toward Rockman. As the two closed in on one another, they turned to face the wall of viruses and cried out in unison.

"Double Hero!"

As Blues' Sword emitted shockwave after shockwave, Rockman's Buster peppered the area, and together they completely obliterated the virus wall, as Stream watched in wonder.

The virus data remnants surged downward and Rockman spread his arms. The Emblem on his chest began to glow and in a bright flash of light, the area was clear of all trace of viruses. With exception of the mass destruction, which merely added to the run-down appearance of the area, the place looked untouched.

"I had forgotten that Hikari-hakase had installed that program inside of you…" Blues mused to himself.

"Another program made by the famous Dr. Hikari? What is its purpose?" Stream asked.

Hikari Yuuichirou, known to his associates as Hikari-hakase, or Dr. Hikari, was the world's foremost programming expert. He was famous for inventing the PET and NetNavi, both extensions of his father's (Hikari Tadashi) development of the modern internet. Although he received no fame for it, he also designed Rockman.EXE, the only NetNavi with a human soul and DNA. The Soul and DNA of his deceased son and Net's brother, Hikari Site, to be exact, but that was confidential for some hopefully obvious reasons. Net and Rockman only let their closest friends know. It was an honor, somehow.

"It allows us to take deleted viruses and reform them to help out in the design and maintenance of the Virus Breeder World," Rockman explained.

"You mean that scrapped Science Labs project?"

"Yup!" Net smiled, "We got Papa to give us a link to the hardware, which was still holding our viruses!"

"We actually looked at the programming code, and Net actually managed to design an adaptation of it."

"**_Our_** Net?"

"It only worked on Metals, though, so we're keeping them at the head of the Food Chain to maintain order. Papa took the program and readapted it to me for the other viruses we found. We think it brings a little humanity to Virus Busting."

"Thought there would be a catch."

Net started in protest, and Stream decided to step in. "But Net designed a program, and without any studying! There shall be another Hikari Family programming genius."

Blues had to admit, the prospect was looming. Net's grades in his computer classes were on par with his Netbattling ability: Top Marks, he admitted, a little begrudgingly. Perhaps IPC could use him in the R&D department. But when did this happen, he wondered. Net had never really displayed any mental dexterity until maybe after Duo's appearance, after he and Rockman began to use Full Synchronization on a regular basis. But Full Synchro didn't cause a boost in the Human's ability, so maybe Net had the smarts just hidden beyond reach… Argh, he shouldn't be thinking about this! The danger was over, so he had to get back to the mission!

"Stream, was it?"

The NetNavi in question turned. Special or no, he was a non-customized brand, so by staring into the LED-style eyes, Blues attempted to trick himself into believing that nothing had happened. That he hadn't shared a life-and-death experience with Stream. He failed miserably.

"Yes, Mr… uh, Blues, was it?"

Blues mentally swore; this was getting harder. Darn Rockman and his fat mouth!

"I'm sorry, but I have to take you into custody."

"Ah yes, you are, after all, the Official."

Net decided to interrupt. "Wait, why? Stream's not a bad guy." His face showed a puzzled expression, a sight commonly associated with the teenager.

"True, but he was found on roped-off territory. He was illegally trespassing. My job, you know."

"Well, yeah, but…" Net began to rub his eyes. This was difficult to believe, Stream was almost harmless. Almost.

"What Net territory?"

"An Uranet entrance, unfortunately."

"Mr. Blues is right, Net. I was in a roped-off area."

Net sniffled a little, but then something clicked. "Wait, Blues! Was this the entrance from the Kotobuki area?"

"… Yes, why?"

Rockman and Net looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.

"He was trying to get _home_, Blues! He lives just inside the entrance!"

"Yeah!" Rockman added, "In fact, we were going to visit him when you called us."

"…You're joking."

"Blues, would we lie to you?"

The crimson colored NetNavi stared hard at Net.

"Okay, would Rockman lie to you?"

He had to admit, circumstances were strange enough.

"Okay, okay. But still, he's wanted for trespassing. It's my duty…"

That was the moment when things could not have been worse for Blues, but still they continued to spiral downwards. Ijuiin Enzan had arrived on the scene.


	4. Chapter 3

Enzan Ijuuin was famous for his undeniable skill and self-confidence in several aspects of his life. As the Official Net Battler, his mere presence caused pretty much all lesser Cybernet criminals to… well, they _would_ pee themselves, if Navis _could_. Couple that with him being the heir to IPC, most companies' capitulated instantly to buy-outs if he was making the offer. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if this would work out in the courtroom against a totally automated judge system. Enzan rested his head against the cool oaken wood and sighed.

_His day had started off well enough. His normal breakfast schedule had been interrupted when his father made an appearance; he had been planning to eat alone. Even more surprising was the following conversation._

"_Enzan... As you know, you will soon be old enough to inherit the company, and I have nothing left to teach you..."_

_Enzan nodded, he remembered well the years that he spent at his father's side. He remembered the hostile takeovers that he had witnessed, learned to squash out the pity that he felt whenever the target showed emotion._

"_And you have progressed well past my expectations."_

_Enzan nodded again, chewing slower as he processed the compliment._

"_And now that the company is in your hands, I am becoming more and more obsolete."_

_Enzan didn't nod this time._

"_So, I was thinking about what would happen to me after I left the company; I have enough money to sustain me for at least a 50-year span or so. As I thought to myself on this (oh, wow, now I really sound like an old man) I came across a solution. You occupy yourself with your Official duties, which is more or less an offshoot of Net Battling, correct?"_

_Enzan nodded, hiding his surprise at the sudden change in topic._

"_And, I admit it, I'm an excellent businessman, but when it comes down to family, I suck _utterly. _That was always your mother's department, and now that she's... gone, I've completely failed at raising you like a normal kid, and even though your exposure to- Net, was it? - helped a little in that regard, I'm ashamed of myself. As you can do everything I could teach you, I have only a little time left to spend with you as a father, and there is something you could do to help me with that."_

_Enzan became fully alert at his Father's tone._

"_Could you... (Aahh… I'm no good at this...) could you teach me how to Net Battle?"_

_Enzan choked on the French toast in his mouth._

_And so, the Net Battler found himself teaching his father the basics of the game and the art, using a non-customized Net Navi (Blues was chasing some convict down). He had gone over Battle Chips, their elements, the various ways of slotting them in, Program Advances, non-PA combos (which could actually be as deadly, Chat Room junkies were immensely fond of the "Silver Bullet" combo), and close and long-range fighting. His father was a quick learner, and Enzan actually found himself enjoying the company. When his beeper went off, Enzan took a quick check and found that his Net Navi was in a bit of trouble (bit of trouble meaning he was about to be fried to a crisp)._

"_Anou... As much as I don't want to, I have to take a rain check, okay, Pa- uh, Otou-san?" Enzan had been spending too much time with Net and it was rubbing off on him!_

_Shuseki nodded. As Enzan turned away, his father called out to him, "Arigatou, Enzan."_

"_N-no problem... Otou-san." Enzan hurried away._

_As his son disappeared, Shuuseki smiled sadly. That moment reminded him painfully of Enzan's mother, and he wished that she would've been there to witness what he hoped had been a Father-Son moment..._

_Enzan hurried down the hallway, and turned into the computer room, taking his Link PET from its holster and Direct-Linking it to Blues. He had arrived hoping that there was still time left. He hadn't been expecting to see Net and Rockman there, or heck, the conversation that he had been hearing. He cleared his throat to let his presence be known, and Blues turned guiltily toward him._

"_Anou, Enzan-sama..."_

And that was how Enzan came to be involved in the court investigation of Stream.EXE. Using that miraculous ability of his, Net had somehow managed to convince Enzan to take their side of the issue. He didn't even remember half of the conversation, to be truthful. And now, he was arguing for the defendant (he sincerely hoped that his studies at law school as a child would help him in this regard; he highly doubted it, though).

"Ijuuin Enzan, please come to the stand," boomed out the mechanical voice. His day was just getting better and better…

Enzan and Net walked out of the hall, one sighing with relief, the other grinning ear to ear.

"You were GREAT, Enzan!" Net laughed. "Stream was cleared and everything!"

"Thank you very much, Mr. Official, Sir," Stream joined in. Enzan could see why the Ameroupan NetNavi made Blues nervous. As the group walked out of the building, and into the night, Enzan led them to his car, a rather smooth ride, but it was very bulky, in a stylish sort of way. Net had dubbed it _Greiga_, after the Dennoujou it reminded him of. Enzan couldn't complain, a name made it sound more official, and Net had a knack for art's many offshoots, the naming of items included. Anyway, Enzan Plugged Blues into the digital cockpit (he was old enough to legally own a car, and rich enough to own this model, but until he hit the age of 16 years –which would be in a few months- he would let Blues handle the driving). Blues activated the controls, and Enzan sat back in the leather chair (he could afford the best) as he began to think, the usual ritual for when Blues was driving, but with Net in the car he doubted he would get to enjoy the calming sensation.

Net was actually about to get in when he let out an almighty sneeze. This didn't really bother Enzan much; Net got himself into trouble so often, that the Official was surprised that the brunette didn't get sick all the time. He only started worrying when the alarm of the car next to him went off.

"Get in, you fool!" Enzan snapped, grabbed his friend by the scruff of the neck, and yanked. Net toppled in headfirst, and the two landed in a jumble.

"Blues. Drive. Now." Enzan's voice issued from the bottom of the car.

"Yes, sir." As the car backed out of the lot, Enzan righted himself and glared at Net.

"NEVER eat the Bean Burrito from your school cafeteria EVER AGIAN, NET HIKARI!"

Net chuckled and blushed a little. Rockman sighed, and Blues smiled. Net, for all his faults, was a true miracle. Without him, Enzan would be, well, still cold and friendless. Currently he was in the middle of a developing familiar relationship with the young heiress of the Gabcom corporation. The wonders of companionship. Even Blues was given a bonus: he often got to Net Battle Rockman. He wished that it were more often over grander circumstances, however; Net Battling over the last sandwich on the buffet tray was not a worthy excuse in his opinion. Not that he would say anything. Of course not.

As _Greiga_ pulled into mainstream traffic, Net sniffled and asked for a tissue. Enzan decided not to comment on the question as he handed a tissue to his partner, turning away, but filing to plug his ears to block out the trumpeting. He sighed as Net rolled down the window and actually managed to shoot the tissue into a passing waste basket, a decision he immediately regretted when his nose started to run. Enzan sighed, got out another tissue, and jammed it up Net's nose.

"Keep it there." No double-talk, Enzan was in charge, and Net knew better. It wasn't _his_ fault that he sneezed, and shot the tissue out the window again (by mistake). Honest.

"Blues. Head for Kotobuki, please. Net wants to drop Stream off there," Rockman smiled. Net was loyal to his friends, and wanted Stream to have a safe walk home.

"Can do."

The car stopped by the side of the rundown hotel that they were all familiar with. Age had done it no favors, and looked worse for the wear.

"Can you take from here, Stream?" Net sniffed. Sream had been riding in his PET for the trip.

"I can manage, Net. Could you just beam me to the tower at the tip? It's a long walk from the bottom server."

Enzan looked out the window. "Here, let me do it, you don't have the right angle."

"No, I got it," Net smiled, looking just behind _Greiga_. "Have a safe trip, Stream!"

"You too, Net. Oh, and do something about that cold. Maybe Mr. Official has something for you. He seems to have stashed this with supplies car in case you were in it."

Net glared at Enzan, and then he aimed behind the car. "Plug-In, Stream.EXE!"

As Net pulled himself back into the car, Enzan unplugged Blues from the Tower Computer to make sure Stream got there alright.

"How did you do that?" the elder of the two asked.

"Mirror," Net smiled, and sneezed again. Blues nodded, Net had figured out the properties of mirrors when they were working with Colonel to protect the Booster System from Nebula. Another example of his spontaneous intelligence. Blues started the car again, and headed for Akihara.

Stream.EXE was lying on the floor of the simple home he had designed, waiting. He started and got up when the screen on the far wall fizzed to life. He walked over to it, saluted, and waited for a reply.

"You need to be careful, Stream," the figure on the screen grunted. "I can't afford any more slip-ups."

Stream nodded shakily. "I- I have the package ready for delivery, S-sir."

"Good. Send it."

Stream held out the data packet he had been hiding in his helmet, and in a flash it was gone. Now that his job was done, he looked a little closer at the form on the screen.

"Sir, I stand by what I said last time. You're in need of some serious rest." It was a risk, but he had to take it. Unfortunately, the figure didn't seem to like that idea.

"Hmm… it looks like we don't have enough, Stream. Would you be so kind and help me obtain some more?"

Stream gulped. The silhouette on the screen pulled a soccer ball from off screen and began to juggle it. He held out his PET and held it up to the screen.

Stream sighed as he felt the PET connect to his systems. The figure held up a chip that made Stream feel sick.

"Stream.EXE, Beast OUT!"


	5. Chapter 4

Mail pressed her nose against the window of the airplane, smiling as she saw Densan Airport appearing beneath the jet. She was home…

… "MEIRU-CHAN!!" Yaito screamed as she tackled her best friend. Mail grunted uncomfortably as she landed on the "carpeted" floor of the gateway.

"Konnichi wa, Yaito-chan," she giggled. She managed to pry the younger girl off of herself and to get up off of the floor.

"Here, Mail-san," Glyde smiled, offering her his hand. Mail gratefully accepted the steadying assistance. Boy, did she love the new PET model.

The newest model, Dimensional PET, allowed NetNavis to actually materialize in the real world due to intrinsic Dimensional Area generators. They were however, strictly monitored by the Japanese government, so Net criminals and hackers couldn't have that much fun.

"Nice to see you again, Mail-chan!" Dekao laughed, giving the redhead a brief bear hug. Gutsman offered her a finger, since a normal handshake could've shattered her wrist, but Mail took it in stride.

"Good to see you back, Mail-san," Enzan smiled. "How was Ameroupe?"

"Excellent. That year abroad did me some real good."

"Well, that's good."

"You were greatly missed," Tohru chuckled. "Now the group feels whole again."

Mail smiled happily. "Hey, how about we get my bags, and then go out to lunch?"

Without waiting for a reply, she strode toward the baggage claim; _completely_ ignoring Net's outstretched hand. As she walked briskly away, Net seemed to have frozen in place.

"Ouch," Dekao whispered.

"Brr, that was _cold_," Iceman noted. "Even for me!"

"That, ladies and gentlemen," Enzan sighed, "is what we call a 'Netcicle'."

Soon after, the group had joined Mail, and a recently materialized Roll. The girls had already rounded up most of the luggage by the time they got there. The only thing that was giving them a problem was one of Mail's duffel bags that had gotten lodged under a few dozen others. When the duffel had gone around about three times, Mail was sorely frustrated. She grabbed the strap, and yanked.

However, as any veteran air traveler will know, the baggage claim is determined to make the life of its clients miserably. Proving this, the pile of luggage began to drag Mail along with it.

"Hey! Coming through!" she yelled.

"Hold on, Meiru-chan!" Roll called, wrapping her arms around Mail's free one and digging her heels into the floor.

This, too, proved fruitless.

"_Warning_!" announced the Public Address system. "_There has been a virus breach in the baggage claim_. _Warning_!"

Well, that would explain the baggage claim going nuts. But not the monitors all spontaneously combusting.

"Either there's a lot of viruses here, or someone's conducting them," Enzan said with a grim smile.

"What say you we take 'em down, then?" Mail asked in response.

"No need," Enzan chuckled. "Net's already taking care of it."

Mail didn't answer. She lifted her PET to the infrared scanner.

"Roll.EXE, plug in."

Roll's form instantly disintegrated into millions of pixels, which then wound themselves into a tight blue beam that glanced toward the scanner, and in a moment was gone.

Inside the Airport Network, Roll appeared in a small flash of digital light. She looked around, noting the destruction of the normal electronic pathways. She sighed. Why did virii have to always destroy the walkways? Why not just the annoyingly monotonous, uselessly "helpful" programs?

The female Navi leapt from path to path. Strange; there were no virii in this area. Absolutely _none_.

Ah. That would explain it.

Rockman sighed as he walked over to the edge of the platform he was on. He got down on his stomach and looked at the area beneath the platform. A PulseBat was feeding on the digital material of the platform's underside.

"Net, I need a shooter."

"Gotcha! Wide Shot, slot in…"

"Roll Arrow!" cried the female, firing her weapon before Rockman could generate the launcher. The barbed length stuck out of the small bat creature for a moment, and then it exploded into data. Without missing a beat, Rockman extended his arms, and the pixilated matter swirled around them and disappeared.

In the real world, Net looked blankly at the display, still holding the Battle Chip between his fingers. Mail smirked a little, but then caught herself and resumed a stoic expression. He would not affect her. He would not affect her!

"Is that everything, Roll-chan?"

"Looks like it," the Navi replied. She glanced up once to see Rockman still hanging upside-down from the platform. She mentally giggled at the blank expression, and then she felt her jaw drop as he flipped down from his perch, somersaulting in midair and landing before her.

He acted as if nothing had happened, and Roll shut her mouth before he turned to face her.

"Konnichiwa, Roll-sa… _nani?!_" Now Rockman's jaw dropped, and Roll was slightly pleased to notice that it was a few inches lower than hers had been.

Now, to the Blue Bomber's credit, for the past several years, he'd been good with handling surprises. Missiles, psychomaniacs, and assorted other problems had gone down without a hitch. However, Roll's new… _look _had not been imagined in his wildest dreams. Okay, maybe some of his wildest. But very few. Almost none! Inwardly, he sort of wished he wasn't really Saito at this particular moment, because along with the intense power came human DNA, and with that DNA, hormones.

"And what, pray tell are you staring at Rockman? You've seen my emblem before, haven't you?" Oh, she _was loving this_!

"I wasn't looking quite at your…" Rockman decided to stop himself before he dug his grave any further. He was already past the six feet mark, he was sure. "Nevermind," he mumbled, feeling very much like a loser.

"At my what?" the female drawled questioningly.

"Uh… um… well…"

"I take it that you noticed that Mail customized me during the year?"

"Well, yeah."

Rockman couldn't bring himself to look at the Navi; her "customization" had made her _far_ more womanly, and Rockman couldn't help but notice that while in his current form, he still looked like a young adolescent.

Wait a second. This is _Roll_, he realized. Despite their differences, she should at least be treated with respect! Now if he could only focus on looking at her face, and not at her… _ANYWAY_, he smiled, and offered his hand.

"I hope your stay in Ameroupe was good?"

"Yes it was very nice… but- HOLD STILL!!"

Roll's expression took on an angry appearance, and she whipped at her right arm. Immediately transforming into a crossbow, it fired an arrow at the virus that had just snuck up on them.

Well, Rockman had known it was there for a while, but as it seemed to not do anything explicitly _bad_, he decided to just let it be. He was also aware of the fact that once it noticed them, it had charged headlong toward them, but Roll was the one who took the decisive action, deleting it. Oh, well.

Spinning around, Rockman captured the pixilated data fragments of the PulseBat, and transferred them to the Virus Breeder.

"Well, that was a fairly high leveled one, now wasn't it, Net?"

"Yeah. They don't usually show up here."

The Blue Bomber nodded. He figured as much. He turned to Roll.

"Could I have your assistance in finding our perp?"

"Perp?"

"That PulseBat was a very high-leveled one. The only PulseBats here are mid-levels. And I believe that means…"

"Someone put it here?" Roll finished up for him. Rockman nodded; she was getting good at criminal tactics.

"Now then, should we search together, or split up? It's your choi…"

"Split up," Mail announced, and without a further word, Roll ran off into the darkness of the Airport Network. Rockman blinked after, feeling mildly happy that his hormones had died down, but also slightly sad that Roll had left without any verbal acknowledgement.

"Well, if they want to split up, we'll split up," Net shot back. Rockman sighed as he jogged down the adjacent pathway; Net was obviously taking Mail's standoffishness as a challenge to his masculinity, and therefore was NOT going to let this slide.

Outside in the Real World, Enzan sighed.

"Would you two like some help?"

"NO!!" came the vehement reply in stereo. Enzan winced, and moved back a few yards.

"So, what are they angry about again?" he asked silently.

"Net finally, after a few years, finally asks Mail out, and then stands her up. She was so angry, she spent the next year abroad."

"Oh really?" the argent-haired Net Savior asked. "You wouldn't happen to remember the day, would you?"

"Some time mid-August, I think," Yaito answered. Enzan felt his stomach fall a few inches.

"August 17?"

"Yeah… that was it…" Yaito looked closely at Enzan's face, noting that it was assuming a fairly dark green shade. The teenager felt his stomach plummet fast, landing somewhere in his left leg.

"So that's why he…"

"He what?"

"No, I can't say."

The blonde girl raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

"It's not that I can't, so much as I won't. I promised him I wouldn't tell."

"Glyde? Please find out what happened August 17, two years ago?"

"As you wish…" Glyde faded out for a few moments, and then returned.

"That particular day was when a certain low-level anti-free trade Net Terrorist organization attacked a multitude of Akihara Cho banks. Their signature seemed to be leaving all automatic tellers with a virus that caused a system meltdown and an explosion."

"Alright, let me guess," Yaito said. Enzan sighed, this was becoming far too common a habit with them.

"Net got involved in trying to stop them, and got seriously injured. At whatever hospital he was at, he asked you and the other Net Saviors not to reveal this to anyone, and you, with your insane ideas of loyalty and such, agreed. Meanwhile, Mail is waiting at the beach, and Net fails to show up for the date."

"Well," Enzan attempted to back Net up, "Mail does have this habit of going into overdrive when Net gets in serious trouble, and he didn't want her to go through that again…"

"So he let's her wait for several hours, and then disappears for a few weeks to hide the fact of his broken arm, using what you called an 'Official Assignment'!" Yaito said scathingly.

"Well… yeah."

"I say this whole mess is his fault."

"Maybe so, but the only reason he did it was to keep Mail from worrying!"

Yaito didn't have a comeback to that.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Mail had surprisingly good hearing. She refused to let her face change expression, but she felt her own stomach fall a little. Trying to distract herself, she looked back to see how her NetNavi was doing.

"Rockbuster!" The Blue Bomber grinned, firing his weapon at the virii, and then absorbing and transmitting the data with his left hand. He continued down the pathway when he came to a portion that had been razed to mere particles.

"Heya, Net?"

"I see it. Lessee, do you want the Booster or the Wings?"

"Since I have no need of jet-speed, I think the Wings will do fine."

Mail had picked up on the conversation. Wings? What were the Wings? Silenetly directing Roll to pause and look, she felt her eyes widen as she watched Rockman transform.

Rockman had removed his helmet, letting his brown hair free. Roll refused to admit it, especially since Net and Mail were having a spat, but she always liked Rockman's hair. The blue Navi put his finger to his lips and whistled.

Net chuckled to himself. "Beat Assist Program… download."

Above in the sky, a bright flash of blue filled the dark Network, and speared down towards Rockman. It stopped suddenly, and Roll saw that Rockman was now holding a spherical… _bird_. The bird had landed in Rockman's helmet, and seemed quite content to nestle there.

"Hiya, Beat."

The blue bird-like program squawked happily in response. It nuzzled Rockman's emblem.

"We're gonna need your help, alright?"

Another squawk, and the bird reverted to the blue light, which enveloped Rockman. Roll was blinded for a moment, but when she could clear her vision, she saw that Rockman now had… _wings_! Well, not actual wings, so much as winglike extensions that spread from his ankles, shoulders, and arms.

Rockman shook his limbs once, and ascended from the ground. Roll watched his "flight" from the pathway over the broken data, she watched his graceful movements and his hair flowing backwards. When he descended, he turned to look at her, and silently mouthed "You like?" She blushed in response, and turned away hurriedly, not before she had noticed that Rockman's form had changed to support the "wings", giving him a far more mature appearance.

She blushed even more, however, when Net generated a viewscreen so he could talk to Rockman and announced, "I see. Next time would you TELL me if you want to show off?"

Rockman sighed in defeat. He turned back to do the job he was supposed to, brimming with satisfaction from his former colleague's expression. He began to leap from data fragment to data fragment, a feat impossible without the wings now spreading from his body. With his Wing Form, he was able to alight on even a stream of light. Anything that generated a visual in the Internet could easily be used as a platform. In Wing Form, he could _fly_.

He needed to thank Net for designing this program.

He moved back to leaping from particle to particle. It seemed whoever had come this way did not want anyone following him. At all.

He continued along the broken pathway, looking over his shoulder to see how Roll was doing, and smiled whenever they made eye contact. They had to be careful, though, since Mail and Net were watching closely.

"Pay attention, Blue Bomber," a voice sneered. "You might just have lost your balance."

Rockman froze, and then looked about him. The voice had no source.

"Oh, you don't have to worry, silly Navi. The only one in danger here is your _girlfriend_."

_THERE!_ Rockman fired his Buster at the hidden source of the noise, an Eleoga. The beastly creature gaped at him for a moment, and then disintegrated into particles, which Rockman quickly absorbed.

"What on earth did he say my… oh, _SHOOT_!!" Rockman turned and leapt toward Roll. It would take WAY too long to get there, even with the Wings!

Roll sighed. Why, oh WHY did she have to go all girly like that?! She wasn't supposed to care about him anymore, she didn't WANT to care about him anymore!

"Roll-chan, watch it!!"

The Navi yipped in surprise, and left to the side as she barely avoided a Metal's Shockwave. Wait, a METAL?! She was so confused, she couldn't dodge a _Metal?_

"Stupid virus!" the female hissed, deleting the malignant code passionately.

"Are you okay, Roll-chan?" asked a worried Mail.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…"

"Looks like we still can't win against them, huh?" Mail whispered sadly.

"Yeah…"

Roll continued to move forward. She had started this job, so she was going to finish it!

"You will proceed no further," commanded a deep voice. Roll just barely dodged a circular wave of energy. She felt her eyes widen in horror when the wave completely obliterated the pathway directly before her. She froze, and turned slowly to view her assailant, fear claming her heart.

Standing before her, in a natural regal stance… was a _horse?_


	6. Chapter 5

Of all the evil demonic Navis that Roll had been expecting, she hadn't quite been expecting a… horse. Let alone a green horse. Well, no, that wasn't fair; horses didn't have torsos. Roll turned to her Operator.

"I'm reminded of one of the creatures from your Ameroupan class. The mythology lesson…"

"I'm a _CENTAUR_, you ignorant wench!" screamed the indignant equine Navi.

Roll looked at the NetNavi, briefly sizing him up. "I see a horso with a torso. Not much else."

"Why, you little…!! I can tear any Network I so choose apart!"

Perhaps because he felt a need to compensate for this insult, he flew toward her, grabbed her by the throat, and shook her like a rag doll. Perhaps if he had been thinking a little more clearly, he might've noticed that in addition to the fact that he was doing _no damage at all_, his "victim" had scored a number of decent hits with her antennae.

But, despite this, Roll began to realize that this was futile. If she didn't get released from this grip soon, she wouldn't suffocate, but her head would become separated from her body. And that wasn't good.

"You cannot hope to hurt me, you little freak. I am far stronger than anything you…"

"Hey, Centaurman! Look over here, you nasty four-legged opera wannabe!"

"Huh?" Centaurman, being the overdramatic person he was, had lost focus of his surroundings. He looked to the side, and was blasted away by a…

"ROCKBUSTER!!"

A massive ray of light engulfed the mythological creature. When the torrential blast subsided, Centaurman looked very much like burnt toast. He blinked a few times, and then registered the blue form approaching.

"Ah, Rockman! I see you have come to witness me…"

Without halting, Rockman tore forward, slicing through the Navi's arm, freeing Roll. He executed a midair somersault, and his left arm transformed into a modified buster, so as not to lose the angel motif. A large blast later, and Centaurman was balancing awkwardly on three legs.

"Uh, well, this is…"

Centaurman looked blankly at his now missing right arm, and Rockman sliced off one of the two strange horns protruding from his head. The creature Navi flinched as the blue bomber halted in front of him, buster cocked and ready.

"Now, then," ordered Net. "Put her down, or your crest says _goodbye_."

Centaurman did as he was told, unceremoniously dropping the female to her knees. Roll, grunted in slight pain as she got to her feet and backed off out of range. Rockman made sure she was safe, and then turned back to the centaur.

"Now then, Centaurman, why did you… where'd he go?"

…It was one of those _**"Oh, shoot!!"**_ moments that they were prone to in their day-to-day lives.

"Chaos Stream!"

A massive sphere of energy erupted toward Rockman, who barely leapt away, costing him his leg. He growled in pain, and fell to the ground. Roll wasn't sure what to do. She rushed over to her "partner", attempting to assist him. He took her hand, and they looked at the totally healed Centaurman who was aiming a nasty grin their way.

Wait a sec'… Net growled in frustration. "Rockman!! Dive!"

Not needing further instruction, the Winged Rockman yanked Roll to his chest, and leapt off the damaged platform, just avoiding two identical Green Balls of Death.

"Wha…?" Roll wasn't sure about which issue she should attend to. Either she should deal with Rockman rudely grabbing her around the waist, or the fact that now _two _Centaurman were blasting away at them. She compromised by healing Rockman's leg and then clutching to him for dear life as he rocketed around the blasted molecules of Cyberspace.

Back outside in the real world, Net turned to Enzan as Mail watched in fear. "Blues would be helpful right about now."

With a quick and sheepish apology, Enzan had his Navi Plug-In, and soon even Gutsman, Glyde and Iceman had joined the party.

"Wha… what's happening?" Mail wondered aloud. Navis didn't duplicate unless it was part of their motif, and Net had been acting normally up until the duplication of the centaur.

"Geminiman's shown up," explained the brunette.

"Geminiman?" the redhead asked, apparently deciding that her grudge was _NOT_ something to be focusing on right now.

"He duplicates things. Mainly himself, although he can copy others when he feels like it. A bit of a free agent, really. Apparently, the Anti-Free Trade Losers Centaurman works for hired him."

"Hey, Mail?!" came Roll's voice from the PET. "We could use a LITTLE HELP IN HERE!!!!!"

"Ack! Sorry! Recovery +300, Slot-IN!"

Roll felt the regeneration take place, and suddenly she felt a lot better, ignoring, of course, the multitude of Centaurmen firing at them. Sadly, now that she had all her form rerstored and her damage healed, Rockman was forced to endure (much to his chagrin) his hormones going _absolutely nuts._ His face reddened, and he vowed that his next assignment would not involve so much movement in close quarters, duty or no.

"Dark Cross!" roared Blues, and immediately dispersed half of the dozen or so Centaurman. Gutsman took out four, and Iceman and Glyde dispatched the remainder. Finally allowed to rest, Rockman alighted next to them, and allowed Roll to get to her feet. A _very _awkward silence followed this, in which no one spoke.

"Ano…" Roll mumbled embarrassedly. "Thank you, Rockman." She punctuated this by giving him a peck on the cheek, and in response, his face turned beet red. "N-no problem."

This caused Mail to become very pissed off at Net, who really didn't do anything, and she exemplified this by punching him in the gut. Apparently she had gone back to grudging. "Keep your Navi **away** from mine," she hissed. "Mail!" cried Roll embarrassedly.

"No problem," answered the wheezing Net. At least she addressed him directly now.

"Uh, guys?" ventured Blues. "We have a big problem." He pointed to the ever-growing number of Centaurmen that were collecting on the far end of the Network. Net managed to take a peek at his PET between wheezes, and suddenly his face took on a rather comical expression.

"Rockman! Auto-Pilot, Now!" he ordered, and suddenly Rockman activated his Solo-Program. He materialized two busters, one per arm, and began launching streams of death at their enemies. He leapt into the air, and preceded to unleash every attack he had in his memory, which, considering the entire Data Library of Rockman's experience, was quite a bit.

Sadly, it was not enough, and the army of Centaurman –each one complete with ego- began to taunt him. Net reached inside his pocket, and managed to slot-in one extra chip before falling unconscious.

"Tango Assist Program… Download!" Rockman called. A feral roar filled the area, and a bright green flash of light streaked down towards the Blue Bomber, enveloping him in a green orb of data. Briefly, the orb assumed a leonine appearance, before disappearing. Rockman smiled, preparing to attack. He leapt to a small data particle floating above his comrades, and just waited for a moment.

Picking up on the hint, Blues and the other male Navis logged out. Shame, really. They had wanted to watch the fun.

"Wha…?" Roll wondered. Rockman smiled confidently at her –she felt her "heartbeat" falter- and he turned back to the Centaurmen. Several things happened in _very quick _succession.

—Net suddenly regained consciousness, via a convenient plot device, without anyone noticing.

—He rolled over on his stomach, and took note of a variety of facts. Using his recently developed ability to think very quickly, he decided that if Rockman was going to do what he thought he was going to do, Mail would need to move.

—Since she would never actually listen to a direct order from him (as proven during dangerous times in their past), he rolled over onto his back in her direction, and clipped her in the crook of her knee.

—Without really comprehending what was happening, Mail plummeted suddenly downwards.

—Rockman snapped his fingers in the general direction of the Centaurman, unleashing a massive wave of energy.

—The Centaurmen, far too egotistic to even consider saving themselves, decided to fire back.

—It didn't work, and many of the Centaurmen, along with their Balls of Death (say nothing, please) were deleted.

—Since the remaining Centaurmen were, by nature, reckless and poor shots, many of the loosed blasts were flying toward random sections of the network, obliterating important things, such as monitor control programs.

—The monitor shattered into many tiny pieces.

—Yaito screamed, "What the ?!"

—Mail landed on Net.

—Enzan tackled Yaito to the ground.

—Dekao and Tohru stood there as they were pelted by insignificant pieces of fake plastic.

—The action subsided, and the humans all looked at Net and Mail, who had apparently decided to finish the small scene by accidentally kissing each other.


End file.
